


First Day Jitters

by allmylovesatonce



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, Single Parent AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-09 01:04:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11658378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allmylovesatonce/pseuds/allmylovesatonce
Summary: Jake is a single parent, nervous to send his son to school. Amy is a single mom in the same situation. They meet when their sons are in the same class. But what happens when they grow closer? Will their kids approve?





	First Day Jitters

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning of this is also posted in "Diving in the Dumpster" because I wrote it for a short fic challenge. However, I couldn't get it out of my head and so I wrote a full fledged fic! I hope you enjoy!

Jake was fretting over the first day of school. He prided himself on being a good dad. He was a much better dad to John than Jake’s dad was to him. Still though, the panic of the first day of kindergarten was getting to him. John had asked him the night before why he had to go to school. It had taken everything in Jake not to put it off for another year. Instead, he talked up school and how fun it was and how many friends he’d make.

As Jake walked his son into school, he was pretty sure that he was more nervous than the child. He looked for the kindergarten classroom and directed his son there. They were nearing the door when Jake bumped into another parent. A mother taking her son into the same classroom. “Sorry,” he apologized profusely, still holding John’s hand. She waved him off silently. Jake was pretty sure he noted tears in her eyes. He gestured for her and her son to enter the room before him and John. She nodded gratefully.

Jake walked in and squatted down in front of his son. “Okay, John, this is your classroom. You met your teacher, Miss Miller last week. She is really nice. And there are plenty of kids here to be friends with. Just have a good time and try to learn all you can, okay?” John nodded stiffly. He stumbled forward, throwing his arms around Jake’s neck. Jake could feel tears in his eyes. He wrapped his arms tightly around his son. “You’re gonna have so much fun, Bud.”

“I’m gonna miss you today, Daddy,” John said through his sniffles.

Jake squeezed him before ending the hug and looking at his son. “I’ll miss you too. But in just a matter of hours, I’ll pick you up and we can go to the park and you can tell me all about your day. How does that sound?”

“That sounds fun!” John yelled.

“You just have to make it through the day,” Jake explained. Standing up, he motioned his son toward the rest of the kids. “Now go have fun!” John hugged his leg before running toward the other kids. Jake willed the tears in his eyes not to fall.

“I didn’t really think it would be this hard,” Jake heard someone say. He looked over and it was the mom he’d bumped into.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’m a single dad. This is hitting me like a truck.”

She chuckled dryly. “I know what you mean. I’m a single mom. I cried all night last night. My eyes would barely open this morning when Sam was jumping on my bed because he was so excited for school.”

“Ahh the single parenthood,” Jake mused. “Glad I’m not alone.”

She smiled at him. “I’m Amy Santiago.”

“Jake Peralta,” he replied.

“I didn’t notice earlier, which one is yours?” she asked.

“Black Nets t-shirt with the Die Hard back pack,” he pointed out. She looked at him skeptically. “It was my back pack as a kid. He hasn’t seen it,” he assured her. “Well, not yet. He’ll see it someday because it’s the best movie ever.” Amy laughed. “Which one is yours?”

Amy pointed to the boy right next to John. “Sam’s the one in the red checked shirt and slacks giving yours a friendship sticker.” Jake looked over at her with an amused expression. “I may have given him some pointers on making friends. It mainly involved stickers.”

The teacher asked the parents to leave so they could start class. Jake bid goodbye to John as Amy did the same with Sam. Jake couldn’t help but smile as he noticed the two boys sitting down next to each other. Jake couldn’t wait to hear all about his son’s day.

As they walked out of the school, Jake dug out his keys, unsure of where he was going to go. “I took today off because I figured I’d be too much of a mess at work. Now I have no clue what I should do. I tend to think the secretary won’t want me hanging out in the office.”

Amy laughed and nodded. “I did the same thing. I took a sick day.”

“Listen, single parent to single parent,” Jake began nervously, “how would you feel about getting coffee and talking about how much we miss our kids?”

Amy smiled brightly. “I think that sounds great. Maybe some Irish coffee?”

“Ooh, I like that idea,” Jake agreed with a grin. “How early do you think bars open?”

“I’m game,” Amy replied with a laugh. “This could be fun.”

Jake nodded excitedly before he gestured toward the parking lot. “After you, m’lady!”

They found themselves at a small coffeehouse not far from the school. As they sat down, Jake realized that it almost had the feeling of a date. He shook his head, ignoring the crazy notion. They both took a sip of their drinks before either of them started talking. “Is it bad that I’m wondering what they’re doing now?” Jake asked. “Am I too obsessed with my kid?”

Amy laughed. “I don’t think that’s a thing. I mean at least between parents. Some of my friends probably think I’m too obsessed with Sam.”

Jake smirked. “Yeah, I remember when John was a baby and I was fawning all over him and my friend Gina made some comment about how he only smiled because he farted. I was horrified and offended.”

“Exactly,” Amy agreed. “I have some friends like that too.” She shook her head with a laugh as she took another drink. “So what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a detective.” Amy’s mouth dropped open. Jake leaned back slightly. “What’s wrong with that?”

Amy shook her head quickly. “Nothing at all. I’m just surprised. I’m also a detective.”

“What? No way! Which precinct?” Jake asked, very intrigued.

“The 99th. You?”

“The 78th.” They both stared at each other for a beat. “How bizarre,” Jake mused with a small shake of his head.

Amy smirked into her coffee mug. “Good to know I’m in good company.”

They chatted for a while about the job. Soon talk turned back to their children. Before they knew it, they’d been there for at least a couple hours, just chatting amiably.

Amy seemed to tense a little as she posed her next question. “Probably not my place to ask, but where’s John’s mom?”

A serious expression replaced the smile that had graced Jake’s face for most of the time they’d been together. “That’s a good question. I think somewhere here in New York. I’m not really sure though.” Amy started to nod. Jake could tell she wasn’t going to ask any more questions, so he volunteered the information. “We were dating, not super seriously, when she got pregnant. She was a defense attorney.” Amy’s mouth opened in horror. “Yeah I know,” Jake said with a laugh. “Big mistake. Anyway, she was more dedicated to her job than literally anything else. I told her that I would be willing to go along with whatever she wanted to do. I mean I was excited at the prospect of having a kid, but she wasn’t really one to try and force your opinion on. So anyway, I think she knew I was excited about it so she decided we’d keep it.”

Jake paused, reliving it all. “I can still remember the day that I thought something was off. She came home from her baby shower with all this amazing stuff. I was so excited about it all. I was looking through everything and freaking out over it like a total nerd. And she sat on the couch staring at it with an almost horrified look on her face. I thought she was just overwhelmed. I mean having a baby is a big deal. But no, she was dreading it. Apparently her lawyer friends had said all these things about how being a mom was going to be her new career. And she’d freaked out because her job was her real baby. Which I knew. And I’d always accepted that I came second to her job. I just didn’t figure she’d have gone through with the pregnancy if she was so scared of it affecting her career.”

“I remember that,” Amy interjected. “People telling me my career ambitions were now over because I was having a baby. It can be scary. But I actually wanted Sam. I’m guessing from your story, that’s not actually the case?”

Jake wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, not exactly. So she never said anything to me about not wanting the baby. I could tell that something was off, but I figured she was tired or overwhelmed being so far into her pregnancy plus work. She was really busy. I tried to be home every night in case she needed me. She never did. Then, ten days before her due date, she was in court and I got a call at work to go to the hospital. I was freaking out. So I drove to the hospital and I walk to find the nurse who called me and she takes me to the window of the nursery and points at a particular baby and tells me that’s my son.”

“Wait,” Amy stopped him, a disgusted look on her face. “You didn’t –”

“Yeah,” Jake confirmed. “I missed the birth of my child because she wouldn’t leave court and gave birth in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.” He nods at the sad look on Amy’s face. “So one of Sophia’s friends finds me in the hospital and tells me the baby’s mine. Sophia doesn’t want to see me or him. Her other friends were already getting her stuff from my apartment and I didn’t need to worry about that. So two days later I took my kid home and they’d done a good job of removing any aspect of Sophia from my home. I mean she didn’t even name him, I did. I haven’t seen her since the night before she gave birth. And John’s never seen his mother.”

“Wow.”

Jake shrugged. “I mean we’ve been okay. My Captain was amazing and gave me paternity leave and I got used to being a single dad. But you know, I can’t imagine my life without John. For all the drama of his arrival and how crazy my life became, I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Jake concluded with a smile.

Amy matched his smile. “Yeah I definitely get that.”

“So how did you end up a single mom?” He asked.

Amy shook her head and rolled her eyes as she geared up to tell her story. “It had been a month since I’d gotten engaged to my boyfriend of a year when I found out we were going to have a baby. I was really excited. In hindsight, I think he faked his excitement. Anyway, so we pushed back the wedding to focus on the baby and somehow along the way things started to fizzle. Teddy wasn’t as good at feigning his excitement as he thought he was. I, of course, didn’t think the way he was acting was about the baby, I thought it was about me. So I got a lot clingier and that didn’t help matters. We had very similar interests which was what drew us together, but it was then that I realized that at our cores we were very different people.”

“That’s a great time to find that out,” Jake joked.

Amy chuckled. “Yeah. So Sam came and it was about two months later that Teddy couldn’t take it anymore and moved out. I mean I was devastated, but I chose to focus on Sam and on being the best mom I could be. I mean we just fell apart. It certainly doesn’t hold a candle to _your_ story,” Amy said with a laugh.

“I don’t think you’d really want it to,” Jake offered.

Amy shrugged. “That’s fair. But you’ll like this part. Teddy’s _mom_ made him reach out for a custody agreement. She thought he needed to be a part of Sam’s life. I informed her that unless Teddy _wanted_ to be a part of Sam’s life, he didn’t need to be. So Teddy gets Sam for a weekend every two weeks.”

“And you get no help in the meantime?”

“I’ve learned how to get by without it,” Amy said with a shrug. “I have friends who help me when I really need it. What about you?”

“Yeah, I have some good friends who help me out when I can’t get off work. And a really good babysitter,” Jake laughed. “Plus when Sophia left me with a baby to raise all alone, my mom moved into the city. She said it was to be there whenever I needed her, but I think she just wanted to be as close to her only grandson as she could.”

They both laughed before they sat in silence for a moment. “And now they’re in school…” Amy said in a small voice, trailing off.

“I can’t believe it.”

“I mean we got them this far right?” Amy wondered aloud.

Jake chuckled. “So you’re saying the hard part is over?”

Amy snorted. “If only. At least you have a son. I am already dreading having to raise a teenage boy on my own,” Amy joked, covering her face with her hands.

Jake laughed heartily. “I wish I could say it’s not that bad…”

Amy dropped her face from her hands. “Oh I grew up with seven brothers. I know _precisely_ how terrible it is.”

Jake gaped at her. “You have seven brothers?” Amy nodded. “Damn.”

“Yeah, growing up was crazy. But it was helpful to have all that family when Teddy bailed.”

Jake nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I bet.”

“I gotta say it’s interesting meeting someone who was basically going through one of the hardest parts of their life at the same time you were going through yours,” Amy mused.

Jake’s eyebrows raised in thought. “Wow that’s a good point. If only there had been a support group five years ago before we got into the swing of things.”

“Nah,” Amy disagreed. “It’s probably better we figured it out on our own.” Jake nodded.

They sat there in a comfortable silence for a beat. They both checked their phones to see if there was anything important they’d missed in the time they’d been chatting.

Amy put her phone down. “You know, I think this is the closest thing to a date that I’ve been on in five years.” Jake nodded. “I mean I don’t have to tell you that dating as a single parent is hard.”

“That’s true,” Jake agreed. He looked at Amy. He’d really enjoyed the time they’d spent together. It was incredible to meet someone in the same position as him. Plus she was a cop too. He decided to risk it. “That being said though, how would you feel about doing this again sometime…?” he asked hesitantly.

Amy looked at him with a questioning expression. Suddenly a smile broke through the façade, her eyes shining. “I’d like that.”

**

Jake was swinging with his son as John told him all about his first day of school. “It was so fun, Daddy!” John cried. “We played outside and we had center time and we got to play with play dough!”

“That does sound like fun!” Jake agreed, smiling from ear to ear at the sight of his child so happy. “So do you like your classmates?”

“Yeah,” John informed him.

“Did you make any friends?”

“Yeah! Aaron was nice. He shared his crayons with me,” John explained.

“That was nice of him.”

“And Max picked me for his team when we played tag.”

“Wait, you’re already doing all that picking teams stuff?” Jake asked, feeling horrified that his young son was already subjected to that.

“And Sam gave me a sticker this morning and asked me to be his friend. So we’re _best_ friends.”

Jake couldn’t help but smirk. Kids were so easy to win over.  “Well I’m glad. I met Sam’s mom today.”

“Is she pretty?” John asked.

Jake looked curiously over at his son on the swing next to him. “Why?” John just shrugged. They kept talking about his day at school, though now Jake wondered what his son could be thinking.

**

Amy was tucking Sam into bed when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out quickly to see Jake was calling her. She put her phone back in her pocket, noting that she would call him back.

“Mommy?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, Sweetie?” Amy replied, pushing his hair back from his forehead gently.

“Do I really have to go see him tomorrow?”

Amy sighed. She set aside the book she’d pulled out for them to read and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Sam, you know it’s your weekend with your dad. I’m sure he wants to hear all about how much you love school.”

“No he doesn’t,” Sam insisted. “He doesn’t like me.”

Amy wanted to cry. They’d had this conversation before and each time it still hurt. She didn’t know why Teddy couldn’t fake it more when he spent time with his child. She didn’t know why everything else in Teddy’s life had to come before Sam. “Yes, he does like you. I promise. He just has a different way of showing it.”

“Aaron’s dad coaches his soccer team,” Sam rattled off. “And John’s dad takes him to the park all the time. Why can’t my dad be like that?”

Amy sped past the accidental mention of Jake in order to try and comfort her son. “Sweetie, I know that you would rather spend time with me this weekend, but I’m just going to clean all weekend. Wouldn’t you rather see your dad than have me make you clean?”

“No, I like helping you clean,” Sam insisted. Amy laughed to herself. Of course that had rubbed off on her child.

“Look, how about this,” Amy negotiated, “If you go to your dad’s and you try to have fun with him, and I mean really try, _we_ can go out for ice cream when I pick you up from school on Monday. How does that sound?”

Sam looked like he was thinking it over. “Okay.” He looked down at the book next to Amy’s hand. “Can we still read some?”

Amy smirked, kissing her son on the forehead. “I think we have time for one chapter.” She opened up to where they’d ended the night before and began to read to him. “Malfoy couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful,” Amy read aloud to her eager son. Amy hadn’t been able to resist passing on her love of Harry Potter to her child. Still, it had been a long week and Sam was asleep before the troll even left the dungeons. She pulled his blankets up tighter around him, kissed him one more time, and turned the lamp off next to his bed.

Amy strolled into her room and threw herself down on her bed. She always felt so guilty sending Sam to Teddy’s. She knew that Teddy only took Sam two weekends a month because he felt obligated. And she knew that Sam was always miserable when he was there. But that was the custody agreement they’d reached and she knew if she tried to change it now that Teddy’s parents would riot.

She was flipped over and laid on her back. That was when she felt her phone in her back pocket. Suddenly she remembered that Jake had called her. Quickly she pulled her phone out to call him back. She caught herself smiling as she tapped his number on the screen. Admittedly, she liked Jake. They hadn’t seen each other since their coffee outing other than picking up the boys at school. They always chatted a little bit until the boys dragged them off, ready to head home. Sometimes, especially recently, they’d text each other back and forth, discussing the life of a single parent/detective. Even just over text messaging, Jake made her laugh. And it had been a long time since a man had consistently made Amy laugh like that.

She fought the smile forming on her face as she heard the ringing on the other end. It rang twice before Jake picked up. “Hey!” He greeted cheerily.

“Hi! Sorry I missed your call earlier. It was bedtime and we were reading Harry Potter,” she explained.

“What?” Jake asked with a laugh. “You’re reading Harry Potter to your five year old?”

Amy felt defensive. “We’re only on the first one. We just read a little bit each night. What’s so bad about that?”

“I don’t know. I guess I would just think it was scary for a five year old,” Jake wondered. “I don’t know though because I’ve never read them.”

“What?” Amy cried. “You should! They’re so good!”

Jake laughed. “All right, I’ll take your word for it.”

“I mean it, you should read them,” Amy insisted. She could hear Jake still laughing on the other end. “Anyway, what’s up?”   
“Oh right, I called you first,” Jake remembered. “So my mom called me tonight insisting that she wants a weekend with just John. She said I look tired or something. Anyway, so she’s going to have him this weekend which made me wonder if you would want to get dinner or something.”

“Are you asking me out?” Amy joked.

“Yeah, I thought that was pretty obvious,” Jake retorted.

“Fair enough,” Amy chuckled.

“So…”

“Uh, yeah! Your timing is actually pretty good because Sam is spending the weekend with Teddy. So I’m free too,” Amy informed him.

“Wow, that is good timing. Imagine two single parents _actually_ having free time on the same weekend. What are the odds of that?” Jake wondered aloud.

“Must be fate,” Amy mused with a laugh.

“I guess so,” Jake agreed. “So how does Saturday sound?”

“That sounds great!”

“Great!”

Amy expected Jake to hang up but he asked her about work and an hour later they were still talking. Amy couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as they spoke. She couldn’t really remember the last time she’d felt so light just talking to someone. Amy eyed her closet from where she laid on her bed, already trying to decide what she should wear on Saturday.

**

“I’m not saying you should be a crappy dad,” Amy argued, “I’m just saying my kid is jealous of your kid.”

Jake placed his hand over his heart. “I am truly so touched by that.”

Amy glared at him, smacking him on the arm. “Seriously?”

“Okay but think about it from my perspective,” Jake reasoned, “I have gotten ‘Billy has a dad and a mom, why don’t I?’ So hearing that one of my kid’s friends is jealous because I take him to the park after school sometimes makes me feel pretty great. Though I am obviously sorry that Sam feels jealous of John and that Sam has a crappy dad.”

Amy sighed and shook her head. “Okay, I guess I see your point.”

The hostess approached them. “You’re table is right this way.” They followed her, Jake placing his hand on Amy’s back for her to go ahead of him.

“So tell me about Sam,” Jake asked once they were seated and perusing the menus.

“He is five years old,” Amy joked.

Jake rolled his eyes at her. “I obviously knew that. I mean I hear about him from a kid’s perspective. But what’s he like?”

Amy smiled broadly. She was so touched Jake asked. There had been very few people who’d ever asked her about her son in that way. “Uh, he’s great! I mean, I’m pretty biased, but he really is. He likes to play “Kitchen.” I’m hoping that will form into an actual hobby of liking to cook from a young age because I’m a dreadful cook,” she said with a laugh. “But he’s smart. I swear he’s like _this_ close to reading.”

“No!” Jake yelled, maybe a bit too loudly, but it made Amy laugh. “You can’t be that parent. Your kid’s already reading? Come on! Give the rest of us a break!”

Amy laughed heartily. “I can’t help it. I passed my nerdiness on to him. He has liked having me read him books since he was a baby. He used to just lay there and stare up at me as I read him stories. It was awesome.”

Jake smiled brightly. “It sounds awesome. Also, unrelated, but once John gets home from my mom’s tomorrow, I’m starting an intensive reading camp for him every single night. It will end when he can read proficiently.”

“Oh great,” Amy said with a laugh, “You’re doing both of us a favor. You’re gonna get John to read and Sam will stop being jealous of you because all John is going to do is complain about his daddy making him learn to read nonstop.”

Jake lifted his hands up dramatically. “See? I’m benefitting everyone.”

“So what’s John like?”

Jake smiled thoughtfully. “I would also have to say that he’s great. I don’t really know how with just having me, but he is. He’s funny. He constantly makes me laugh. He likes to make up jokes to make me laugh. For a five year old, I’d say he’s pretty witty.” Jake broke off at the sight of Amy staring at him with a smile on her face. “I don’t know, he just loves to have fun.  He loves being outside and running around. And he loves to wear me out. I swear, chasing him around is harder than chasing perps.”

Amy leaned her head back in laughter. “Yes! Why is chasing a five year old more exhausting than being a cop?”

“I don’t know, but it’s so true!”

They both laughed, smiling at each other in the silence that followed. “So why did you become a cop?” Jake asked.

As much as Amy loved talking about her son, she really appreciated Jake asking about _her_. She liked Jake and she wanted them to get to know each other more than just as the parents of their child’s friend. So Amy talked all about her dad being a cop and his dad being a cop. And Jake talked about watching Die Hard and wanting to become a cop. And before she knew it the conversation steered away from their mutual work as well. They were just talking about their lives and their interests. And Amy couldn’t help it, but she felt smitten.

Since Amy lived a few blocks from the restaurant, Jake volunteered to walk her home. It was a beautiful September evening and it just added to the way Amy was feeling. She doubted herself and wondered if she only liked Jake because he was one of the first people in over five years to show her actual interest. When he genuinely laughed at a joke she made, she couldn’t deny the butterflies in her stomach. When he grabbed her hand to shuffle around some people on the sidewalk, she couldn’t deny the warmth she felt just from holding his hand.

Soon enough, they were at her stoop. She wished the night didn’t have to end, but it was far too soon to invite him up. Given the way she felt around him, she didn’t trust herself. “Thanks for tonight,” she said kindly. “This was really nice.”

Jake smiled brightly. “I agree.”

“Maybe sometime soon we can find the time in our crazy lives to do so again?” Amy ventured.

Jake nodded. “I certainly hope so.” He stepped a bit closer to her. “I had a really good time tonight.”

Amy smiled. “Yeah, I did too.”

Slowly Jake raised his hand, cupping the side of Amy’s face. He only had to lean in part way before Amy met him for the kiss. He kissed her gently, bringing his other hand to her back. She wrapped both arms around him, eagerly returning the kiss. Too soon for her liking, Jake released her with a smile. “Goodnight, Amy.”

She leaned in for another quick kiss. “Goodnight, Jake.”

He stayed there as she walked up to the door of her building. With a wave, she disappeared inside the door. She stood, leaning against the door, a smile plastered across her face. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this intensely happy.

**

As time went on, the nightly calls to each other became more common. Texting each other throughout the day was pretty much a given. And dates somehow became slightly more regular. It was still hard to find a time when both of them didn’t feel like they were abandoning their kids. After a month and a half, they’d been on a handful of dates.

Jake felt like he knew Amy really well though. They may not see each other as much as they’d both like to, but they talked a lot and it helped form the closeness they shared. Jake couldn’t help but marvel at how perfectly it had come together. What were the odds that he’d meet such an amazing woman and she would be the mom of his son’s best friend? He wasn’t a gambler, but he’d bet that those odds were slim. And yet, he was so happy with Amy. She was the only other person he knew who he felt _got_ it.

He was sitting at his desk in the middle of November when his desk phone rang. “Detective Peralta,” he answered.

“Jake! Hey, it’s Amy!”

“Hey!” he greeted. “What’s up? Why are you calling me on my work phone?”

“Because I’m supposed to be working and no one would be suspicious of me calling another precinct.”

Jake chuckled. “Good thinking.”

“Anyway, I have a huge favor to ask of you,” Amy informed him.

“Ask away.”

“Is your babysitter picking up John today?”

“No, I am.”

“Oh,” she said softly.

“Amy, what’s up?” Jake prodded.

Amy sighed over the phone. “I was supposed to pick up Sam today too but now I don’t know if I’ll be able to get away. Would it be way too much of me to ask if you could pick him up?”

“Not at all. Why would that be too much to ask?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know. We haven’t told the boys anything is going on. And it’s not like you’ve spent any time with Sam. I don’t want you to feel like I’m asking this ridiculous thing of you,” Amy rambled.

“Ames,” Jake said in a soothing voice. “For all they’ll think, I’m taking them to have a play date or whatever. They’ll just be excited to spend the afternoon together. It’ll be fine. I can absolutely pick up Sam.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Jake replied confidently. “I mean I’m gonna have to spend time with your son eventually, right?”

Amy chuckled through the phone. “I suppose so. I just imagined I’d be there.”

“Well, sure.”

“Thank you, Jake. I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Jake assured her.

“You’re the best,” she replied.

“I know,” Jake said with a laugh. “Now you should get back to work so you aren’t there all night.”

“Good idea. I’ll see you later!”

“I can’t wait!” Jake answered before hanging up the phone.

Charles walked over to Jake’s desk a bit later in the day. “So are you still good for me coming over tonight to consult you on what meal I should cook for Genevieve for the first time?”

Jake looked up at him curiously until he remembered what Charles was talking about. “Oh shoot. That was tonight?” Charles nodded. “I can’t, Buddy, I’m sorry. I promised Amy I’d pick up Sam and bring him home with me to hang out with John tonight.”

“Wait, so you’re spending time alone with Amy’s kid?”

Jake replied hesitantly. “Yes.”

“Oh my God, this is huge!”

Jake groaned. “No it’s not, Charles. Please don’t make this a big deal.”

“But it is!” Jake opened his mouth to negate him, but Charles continued. “Listen, Jake, you like this kid’s mother. A lot. You don’t think it’s a big deal that this kid likes you? You don’t think it’ll help if he goes home talking about how much fun he had with John’s dad? Because this is the last piece of the puzzle. You and Amy like each other. And your kids like each other. But what if Sam doesn’t like you? Or what if John doesn’t like Amy?”

“Please, John will love Amy,” Jake argued, too unsure to argue whether Sam would love him.

“Okay. I’m just saying, don’t play this off as nothing, Jake. You like Amy so you are bound to be nervous about whether her son likes you,” Charles maintained.

“Fine, I might be a little nervous. But I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I am now that you’ve gone on about it for ten minutes,” Jake retorted.

“Don’t worry, what’s not to love about you, Jakey?”

Jake rolled his eyes, trying to get back to his work. Not sensing this, Charles sat down in the chair next to Jake’s desk. “So things are getting pretty serious with Amy, huh?”

Jake looked over at him. “Why do you say that?”

“You’re nervous about meeting her kid. She’s letting _you_ pick up her kid. She wouldn’t do that if things weren’t getting serious between you,” Charles insisted.

“I mean I guess maybe they are. It feels weird saying that though. We’ve only been on like six dates.”

“But don’t you talk like all the time?” Charles interrogated.

Jake nodded, secretly wishing Charles would leave him to evaluate his relationship on his own. “Yeah. We talk almost every night on the phone after the boys are in bed.”

Charles beamed at him. “That’s beautiful.”

Jake rolled his eyes and pointed back to Charles’s desk. “Okay, you can go now.”

“Okay, but I’ll be here if you need advice,” Charles nearly crooned. Jake shook his head and tried to get back to work. He tried not to spend the rest of the day thinking about what he’d do with the boys. Or better yet, the way things were progressing with Amy. He really did have strong feelings for her. And as much as he wanted Charles to be wrong, it did matter how it went with Sam.

**

“Daddy!” John called as he ran across the room to Jake. Jake squatted down and hugged his son.

“How was your day?”

“Good!” John exclaimed.

“How would you feel if your friend Sam got to come home and play with us?” Jake asked, already knowing the answer.

John gasped and Jake smiled. “Can he?” As if he knew they were talking about him, Sam ran over to John and Jake. “Sam, my dad said you can come home and play with me!”

“Really?” Sam asked excitedly. Jake marveled at how excited the boys were.

“Yeah, I talked to your mom earlier. You’re gonna come hang out with us for a while tonight. How does that sound?” Jake asked.

“Good!” Sam yelled. The boys started talking excitedly to each other.

Jake looked over at Miss Miller. “Did Amy call earlier about me taking Sam home?”

“Yep!” she replied, “And they’re free to go!”

“Thanks!” Jake said before turning back to the boys. “You boys ready to go?”

“Yeah!” they both yelled. Jake laughed and grabbed both of their hands, leading them out of the school and to his car.

They’d played at the park for a while, gotten ice cream on the way back to Jake’s apartment, and the boys were happily playing in John’s room as Jake prepared dinner for them. Even though he was down the hall, he could hear them laughing and yelling as they played. He smiled to himself, thinking on how the day actually went pretty well.

Jake set out bowls of his best macaroni and cheese on the table and called the boys down to eat. They thundered down the hall toward the kitchen. Both of them were about to sit down when Sam stopped. “Wait,” he said, holding out his hand to John, “we should wash our hands before we eat.”

Jake choked back a laugh. “Yes, you should,” he agreed. “Good idea, Sam!”

After they’d both washed their hands, and possibly made a huge mess in the bathroom, they came and sat down at the table with Jake. All it took was one bite of the mac and cheese for Sam to compliment Jake. “Wow, Mr. Peralta, this is really good!”

“Thank you, Sam.”

“My mom’s isn’t this good,” Sam said as he shoveled more in his mouth. Jake once again choked back a laugh, while noting that he should definitely rub it in Amy’s face later. He listened as the boys talked about school. Conversations with five year olds weren’t exactly the most scintillating, but Jake was thoroughly enjoying it. A knock at the door signaled Amy’s likely arrival.

“That’s probably your mom, Sam,” Jake informed them. “You two keep eating. I’ll get the door.” Jake walked down to the front door and opened it to see a haggard Amy standing there. “Hey,” he greeted.

“Hi,” she said miserably. “Thank you so much for getting Sam.”

Jake just shrugged and gestured for her to come in. “It was really no problem Amy.”

“Work just got so bungled. I had no way of leaving earlier than I did. I really appreciate it, Jake, whether it was no problem or not,” she said, leaning in and hugging him quickly.

“It was fun. We all had a pretty fun time today. We played at the park, given what you mentioned to me, and we had some ice cream. Don’t give me that look. And then we came back here. They played and now they’re eating. I’d say overall it was a large success,” Jake mused.

Amy shook her head with a grin. “Well I’m glad.”

“Mommy!” Sam yelled. Jake turned around to see him running from the kitchen towards Amy. She leaned down and hugged him tightly. “Mommy, we’re having mac and cheese!”

“You are?”

“Yeah. Mr. Peralta’s mac and cheese is better than yours!” Sam yelled, as he ran back to the kitchen.

Amy gave Jake a questioning glare. “I swear I didn’t put him up to that. He just volunteered that,” Jake promised. Amy shook her head. “Have you eaten? I have plenty.”

“I suppose I can eat some of your betrayal mac and cheese,” Amy sighed, walking toward the kitchen. Jake laughed as he walked behind her. Jake filled a bowl as she sat down in the empty seat next to John. “You must be John. I’ve heard a lot about you from Sam.”

John was experiencing his rare shyness and very quietly replied, “Yeah.” Amy just smiled and patted him on the back as Jake gave her the bowl of food. John’s shyness disappeared quickly. “Are you Sam’s mom?”

“I am,” Amy replied happily.

John looked over at Jake, “Dad, she _is_ pretty.”

Amy burst out laughing and looked over at Jake whose face suddenly felt very warm. He just shook his head at his son amusedly. “I guess child betrayal is just the theme for tonight,” Jake mused.

Amy took a bite of her mac and cheese and groaned slightly. She looked at Jake with an expression of betrayal. “Crap, he’s right. This _is_ better than mine. How terrible is this for me?”

Jake laughed heartily. “I don’t think it’s any worse than any other kind of mac and cheese.”

“Daddy, we’re done,” John informed Jake. “Can we go play?”

Jake looked over at Amy quickly and she shrugged. “Sure!” They both jumped up. “Ah, John, what should you do first?”

John turned back to the table and grabbed his plate, walking it over to the sink. Sam quickly followed his lead. “Thank you for dinner, Mr. Peralta,” Sam said as he walked out of the kitchen past Jake.

Jake looked over at Amy with a dopey grin on his face. “Amy, he is so precious.”

Amy smiled widely. “Thanks. I agree.”

They had cleaned up after dinner, despite Jake insisting Amy didn’t need to help and Amy helping anyway. “I hate to say it, but I’m kinda glad your work went crazy,” Jake said with a shy grin.

“Why’s that?” Amy asked, stepping closer to him.

“Because then I got to see you sooner than I thought I would,” Jake reasoned.

Amy smiled and leaned up to kiss him quickly. “Well I guess I’m glad for that reason too then.” She sighed. “I should probably take Sam home so he can get to bed.”

Jake nodded and they walked down the hall toward John’s room. Amy held out her hand to stop Jake using police signals. Jake almost laughed out loud. But she was trying to listen to something Sam was saying. Jake leaned closer to hear too.

“Do you like your mom?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know my mom,” John replied.  Jake felt his heart sink. He was waiting for the very statement he’d feared of hearing for five years. Amy turned around and looked at Jake sympathetically. “But it’s okay,” John said. “I like my dad. And he says that we’re just enough.” Amy smiled and grabbed Jake’s hand with a squeeze.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Sam asked. Amy looked at Jake with a concerned expression. “I don’t like my dad,” Sam said sadly. Jake squeezed Amy’s hand in his as he saw her face fall. “He doesn’t do anything fun with me like your dad does with you. We never go play at the park.”

“That’s okay,” John answered. “You can play with me and my dad.”

“Okay, I want to,” Sam replied cheerily.

Jake shook his head with a low chuckle. Amy smiled at him. “I guess today went pretty well.”

He shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Maybe sometime soon I can repay the favor and pick up the boys. Get to spend some time with John,” Amy offered.

Jake smiled. “I think he’d like that.”

They shook off the big moment between them and walked into John’s bedroom. “You ready to go, Sam?” Amy asked.

“No! Can’t I just stay?” Sam whined.

“Sorry, Sweetie, but your bed is at home,” Amy reminded him. “Besides, I think we’ve intruded enough for the night. And you’ll see John tomorrow at school.” Begrudgingly, Sam got up and said goodbye to John. John was walking to the front door with him. Jake and Amy were walking toward the door when Amy ducked in the kitchen. Confused, Jake followed her. “Hey, what do you think your chances would be of getting a babysitter this weekend?” Amy asked.

Jake shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably good. What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know, just that I’d like to see you,” Amy replied. “How would Friday work?”

“So soon,” Jake teased. “I think that sounds perfect.”

“Great!” Amy exclaimed. She leaned in, kissing him deeply. Jake wrapped his arms around her tightly, reciprocating the kiss. Amy started to run her fingers through his hair. Jake was getting lost in their kiss. It wasn’t until they heard a loud laugh from the hall that they broke apart, remembering the children waiting for them. They flashed each other guilty looks and walked back to the door.

“Well we had lots of fun today, Sam,” Jake said to the five year old. “You are welcome to come play with John anytime.”

Amy mouthed “thank you” to him as she saw the thrilled look on Sam’s face. “Really?” Sam asked excitedly.

“Of course, Buddy!”

“Thank you, Mr. Peralta!” Sam yelled, running over and giving Jake a hug around the legs. Jake bent down and returned the hug. He didn’t miss the look on Amy’s face as he stood back up. They all bid each other goodbye and after enough time, Amy and Sam left, leaving Jake to feel like the apartment was emptier somehow. He shook his head. It was much too early for thoughts like that.

Jake had tucked John into bed and was laying on his own bed watching some late night show when his phone started buzzing. He laughed when he looked at the screen and saw Amy was calling. “Hello?”

“Today was a mistake,” Amy replied without even saying hello.

Jake’s stomach sank. “Why?”

“Because if I have to hear _one_ more time about how much Sam wants to go play at John’s or go to the park with John and his dad, I’m going to _lose_ it!” She said a bit shrilly.

Jake felt relief as he laid his head back on the pillow, laughing. “Oh thank God. I thought you were gonna say something else.”

“No. He loved you. He had so much fun today,” Amy reassured. “Which I’m glad he did, but at the same time, I’d like to talk about something else.”

Jake was still laughing. “I’m sorry that your kid is so obsessed with me.”

“Mhmm…I’m sure you are.” Jake couldn’t see Amy, but he could picture the face she was making. After a brief pause, Amy said in a small voice, “I’m excited for Friday.”

**

Friday came and Jake had managed to find a babysitter. Charles agreed that he and Genevieve would watch John as “practice.” Jake didn’t care as long as they agreed to watch him. He trusted them with his son, so he felt comfortable leaving for the night.

They met at a bar of Amy’s choosing. They hadn’t been there too long before Amy spotted him. She stood up quickly and stormed over to the bar. She noticed Jake following quickly in her stride.

“Teddy?” She asked as she looked upon the face of her ex-fiancé.

“Amy, what are you doing here?” he asked.

Amy gaped at him. “I should ask you the same thing. Where is our son?”

Teddy shook his head. “Don’t worry, he’s with his babysitter.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? You think I’d just leave him at home alone?” Teddy asked with a scoff.

“My question is more, why are you here when it is your weekend with him?” Amy asked pointedly.

“A buddy was going through something so I said I’d be here. I forgot I was supposed to have the kid but I found a sitter. My old lady neighbor is great with kids.”

Amy was so close to blowing up on him. “You know, this is why he hates coming to stay with you. This is why he begs me to let him stay with me instead. You get two weekends a month with your son. Why don’t you actually spend time with him?”

Teddy glared at her. “Listen, I don’t tell you what to do with your time, hanging all over some guy in a bar like a –” Amy’s glare cut him off. “So don’t feel like you can tell me what to do with my time.”

Amy had a million retorts spinning around in her head. She’d seen _this_ Teddy before though. A pilsner in hand, a glassy look in his eye, a scowl upon his face. This was not a Teddy that you could win against. Everything you did was wrong. And Amy wasn’t having it tonight. She’d been really excited to see Jake and spend time with him. She wasn’t about to let Teddy ruin that. She shook her head and turned around, walking away from Teddy. Jake followed her back to their table.

“What do you want to do?” Jake asked hesitantly. “Do you want to go somewhere else? Do you want to go home? Do you want to beat him up? I’ll help. Do you want to go get Sam?”

Amy looked up at Jake and smiled. He was so understanding. “Do I want to beat him up? Yes, definitely. But we’re both cops so I don’t see that ending well.”

“What about Sam?”

Amy shrugged. “As much as it pisses me off, I have to leave Sam with his babysitter and his crappy dad.”

“Why? I mean why even give him visitation? He clearly doesn’t value it,” Jake asked.

A sad looked crossed Amy’s face. “It’s his parents. They’d fight me if I didn’t give him time with Sam. And they’re the type of people who would get sway and win. And I’d lose my son to someone who doesn’t even want him.”

Jake gaped at her. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “So what do you want to do?”

Amy leaned her head into Jake’s hand. “We could go somewhere else.” Jake nodded and gestured for her to lead the way. Once they were out of the bar, Amy turned to Jake on the sidewalk. “Okay, this may sound super lame. Tell me if it is. But we could always just grab takeout and go back to my place. I have beer.”

Jake smirked. “I think that sounds great. Way better than some noisy bar with annoying people.”

By the time they’d gotten back to Amy’s, they were getting close to being starving. Amy put on a movie as Jake got out takeout boxes and set them across her coffee table. “Wait,” Jake said, pointing at the TV and stopping her in her tracks, “is any of this animated?”

Amy grinned. “No.”

“Is it rated above G?”

Still grinning, Amy said, “Yes.”

Jake fist pumped the air. “Yes! What a change of pace!”

Amy laughed as she sat down next to him, reaching for her food. She cuddled up against him, eating her Chinese out of the container. Every now and then, they’d pick bits from each other’s containers. The movie played on in the background as they talked. It kept playing as Amy kissed Jake’s jaw and as that little kiss turned into them making out heavily on her couch. It played on as Jake worked at the buttons on Amy’s shirt and she undid the button of his jeans. They didn’t take the time to stop the movie as they tripped and stumbled while kissing on their way to Amy’s bedroom, their clothes leaving a trail behind them.

A bit later, Amy laid curled up against Jake’s body, leaving little kisses along his neck. “Holy crap,” she panted.

“Yeah,” Jake agreed breathily.

“I wish you didn’t have to go home,” Amy said regretfully.

Jake looked down at her. “I don’t have to be home for a while,” he reminded her with a sinful look on his face. He leaned back in, kissing her deeply. Amy responded equally, though both were too spent to do much more than kiss.

Eventually though, Jake did have to go home. He kissed her passionately against the door, blocking his exit. Pulling back, he laid his forehead against hers. “I had a really great time tonight.”

Amy smiled broadly. “You and me both.”

“Let’s do this again soon,” Jake said. His eyes went wide. “I mean _this_ like a date, not _this_ like –”

Amy laid her hand on his chest. “I knew what you meant. Although I’d be fine with both,” she added with a suggestive grin.

“Me too,” Jake smirked, leaning in to kiss her again. He broke the kiss quickly. “Okay, now I really have to go.” Amy stepped out of the way of the door. He gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight, Amy.”

“Goodnight,” she replied with a smile. He couldn’t resist kissing her one more time before he left.

**

It took a while for their next date to line up. Between the holidays approaching, and just the general craziness of work and single parenting, it wasn’t happening as fast as either of them would like. Talking on the phone started happening every night after the boys’ bedtimes. Sometimes it got a bit steamier than usual. Amy still felt as close to Jake as she had before, despite the weeks it had been since they’d spent time alone. They conveniently ran into each other when picking up their sons. They got little times here and there when they actually got to see each other and both of them admitted that they were grateful for it.

So safe to say, by the time the end of December rolled around and they’d actually found the time to schedule a date, Amy was pretty amped up for it. Her parents had blessedly requested all grandchildren stay at their house after Christmas for a few extra days. It was a nice little gift (to them and to her). That meant she could have some time to herself, but also some time with Jake.

The plan was a nice dinner and something else afterward that Jake wouldn’t tell her. She was to the point where she was giddy to be spending time alone with him. Amy was ready to go half an hour before he was set to pick her up. Seven o’clock came and Jake wasn’t there. She figured there could be traffic, so she didn’t freak yet. When seven thirty hit and she didn’t even have a text from him, she started to get skeptical. At eight o’clock, Amy just got mad. She threw her coat back on and stormed out the door. There had to be some reason why Jake just flaked on their date. Maybe he wasn’t as excited for it as she was, but still, she deserved an explanation.

Stomping up to his door, Amy didn’t even consider anything else that could be wrong. If anything was seriously wrong, he’d have let her know. She had no idea what this could be. Amy beat on his door, ready to figure out why he’d stood her up. Jake opened the door looking harried, a sleeping John curled around him like a reversed backpack. She saw his surprised expression fall as he took in her appearance. He held one finger over his lips, to let her know they should be quiet, but he stood back and gestured her to come in.

Amy walked in, seeing things strewn across the apartment. She had no idea what could have happened. She’d been to Jake’s place before, and though he said he could be messy, she’d never seen it like this. Jake was sitting down on the couch, trying not to wake his son. Amy sat down gently next to him.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I completely forgot. It’s been kind of insane around here today.”

Amy shrugged. For all the anger that had built up in her over the last hour or more, she deflated at the sight of Jake looking like a mess. “What happened?” Amy asked softly.

Jake rubbed his hand up and down John’s back. “Sophia came by today.”

Amy gaped at him. “What?” Had it not been for the sleeping child, she’d have had a much louder reaction.

“Yeah,” Jake confirmed. “She apparently wants some amount of custody now. And John didn’t even know who she was, but he heard some woman saying she was going to take him from me and he broke down. He finally cried himself to sleep on my shoulder about an hour and a half ago.” Amy stared at him in shock. “I’m really sorry. I should have at least texted you.”

Amy shook her head. “Jake, don’t be sorry. That sounds like a disaster. I’m the last thing you should be worrying about.”

Jake smiled at her. “I’m still sorry to have ruined our date. It’s been a month.”

Amy rubbed her hand up and down Jake’s arm. “I think we’ll be okay.” She leaned over and kissed his shoulder. He looked at her with a sad smile. “So what does Sophia want?”

“Custody,” Jake confirmed. “I don’t know how much or what. She just came by and said she’d thought a lot about it and she wanted to be a part of her son’s life and she was willing to fight me in court for custody.”

Amy shook her head. “Jake, I’m so sorry. That’s ridiculous.”

She could see tears building in Jake’s eyes. “I know it is. I’m just…what if she wins? What if she decides she wants full custody of him and she wins? I can’t lose him. He’s my son. I have been there for everything. He’s the most important thing in my life. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him.” His tears spilled over his cheeks. Amy reached up to wipe them before they fell down onto John.

“Everything you just said is why you aren’t going to lose him, Jake,” Amy reassured. “You’re an amazing dad. Anyone who’s ever seen you with him can attest to that. We’ll get you a great lawyer who can battle anyone Sophia’s gonna hire. And we’ll make damn sure John doesn’t go anywhere.”

“We?” Jake asked hesitantly.

“You’d think I’d ditch you?” Amy asked, a pointed look on her face.

“No,” Jake stated. “But this is big.”

“Yeah, but so is the way I feel about you,” Amy admitted. “And your son.”

Jake’s face broke out in a small smile. “Thank you, Amy.” She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair comfortingly. She saw his eyes flutter a little. “I don’t really even know where to start,” Jake admitted. “I never thought this would happen.”

“Well why would you?” Amy asked. “She left.” Amy pinned Jake with a meaningful look. “We’ll find the best way to beat her, I promise Jake. John isn’t going anywhere.”

Jake looked at Amy with a grateful expression. “Amy, I…” he trailed off, his face contorting. Finally, he smiled at her. “I appreciate you. I don’t know what I’d do without you either.”

Amy smiled, running her fingers back through his hair. “Well you don’t have to worry about that either.”

**

“Oh my God,” Amy muttered a week later. “Jake! Jake, I found it!” Amy yelled across his apartment. She could hear the boys playing obliviously in the other room as Jake ran into the living room.

“What did you find?” Jake panted.

“You said you wanted to know why she suddenly wanted him back,” Amy reminded. “And I just found that reason. She’s running for mayor of New York City. It hasn’t even been announced yet. My guess is she wants all her ducks in a row before she announces and that’s why she wants John.” Jake threw himself down on the couch. “I’m guessing it will lose some people’s votes if it got out that she had a child and abandoned it. So now she’s trying to look like a present mother.”

Jake shook his head with a faraway glare on his face. “I can’t believe her,” he muttered to himself. He looked up at Amy. “We are not voting for her.”

Amy laughed, getting up and sitting next to him on the couch. “At least we have a good idea of why she’d do this.” Amy patted Jake’s leg comfortingly. “I mean, what messed up judge would take a kid from his amazing father and give him to the mother who only wants him so she can win an election. What is she going to do if she wins? Toss him back to you? Give him off to her arm candy husband?”

“Husband?” Jake asked, looking at Amy. She walked over and got her computer, showing the picture of them to Jake. “Oh my God,” Jake gasped. “She married _him_?”

“Who is it?”

“This slimeball she used to work with,” Jake explained. “We had a number of fights about him. I told her several times that he wanted to sleep with her. She always denied it. Well guess who was right?” Jake shook his head. “No, no way am I letting that dick anywhere near my son.”

“Have you heard back from your lawyer?” Amy asked.

“Yeah, we meet tomorrow afternoon,” Jake replied. “Speaking of which, can yo-”

“Yes, I can get the boys,” Amy assured him with a smile.

Jake let out a sigh. He leaned in and kissed the side of her head. “Thank you, Amy.”

“I’m just picking up my kid and getting one more, it’s not that big a deal,” Amy laughed.

“I didn’t mean just that,” Jake insisted. “I mean for everything. You’ve been my rock for the last week and I…I really don’t know what I’d do without you. You’ve been calming me down right and left. And I mean we aren’t even to court yet.”

Amy put her computer down and grabbed Jake’s hand in both of hers. “I know for a fact that if Teddy made some crazy play for Sam, you would do the exact same thing. You have nothing to thank me for. That little boy deserves to be _here_ in his home. With his dad who he loves. And I can testify to that if need be.”

Jake just smiled and shook his head at her in awe.

**

Amy was making dinner for the boys at her home the next day when John wandered into the kitchen. She was sad that Jake was in the situation he was in, but she was secretly happy to get to spend more time with John. She’d seen the immediate effect Jake had had on Sam. She only hoped she could rub off on John that well.

“Miss Amy?” John asked, calling attention to his arrival in the room.

Amy spun around at her name. She’d told John he could call her that when he was confused that her last name wasn’t Wells like Sam. “Yes, John?” Amy asked, walking over towards him.

“Can I ask you something?”

Amy knelt down in front of him. “Honey, you can ask me anything.”

“Is my dad coming back?”

Amy felt her stomach sink. She reached out and placed her hands on John’s shoulders. “Of course he is, John. He’s just in a meeting. He asked if I could pick you up so you could play with Sam.”

He nodded slightly. “But what about the lady who wants to take me away?”

Amy sat down in one of her kitchen chairs and pulled John onto her lap. “Listen, no one is going to take you away from your dad. He’s fighting really hard to make sure that doesn’t happen, okay? Because your dad, he loves you more than anything. And he isn’t going to let anyone take you away from him.” John sniffled and nodded. “And you know what? Sam and I won’t let anyone take you away either. We love you too.”

John smiled and threw both his arms around Amy in a hug. She felt tears springing in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around John. John ended the hug and looked at Amy. “And you’ll make sure no one takes me away?”

Amy nodded sincerely. “I promise.”

“Thank you, Miss Amy,” he said, climbing down off her lap. Amy nodded at him in reply. He turned to go back to Sam’s room. Suddenly, he turned back. “I like you, Miss Amy.”

Amy smiled widely. “Thank you, John. I like you too.”

John smiled and ran off to play with Sam.

**

For almost two months, Jake and Amy had been doing everything they could to be prepared for a custody hearing. The date was still pending. Jake’s lawyer informed him that sometimes it can take a while to get a court date. So in the meantime, they found anything that would help prove that Sophia shouldn’t get custody and all the good reasons that Jake should keep John. Amy had been coming over to Jake’s apartment with Sam pretty much every day after work or school. The boys seemed content to play together and spend plenty of time hanging out. Jake sometimes couldn’t help but stare at Amy in awe. She’d thrown herself into this mess without a second thought. He’d said it before and he’d meant it; he didn’t know what he’d do without her. He loved her, but he had no idea how to tell her while his life was such a mess.

Amy was out with the boys picking up dinner for them all when Jake got a call from his lawyer. Apparently a court date had been set suddenly. They were meeting in a week. Jake threw his phone on the couch and paced up and down his living room. A knock at the door jolted Jake out of his fury. It couldn’t be Amy. She had a key.

He walked over and opened the door to see Sophia standing there. He glared at her. “Jake, hi,” she said casually. “So we have a court date set for a week from today.”

“Yes, I heard,” Jake replied in a low voice.

“Great,” Sophia responded sweetly, smiling at Jake. “However, you know we could just use a mediator and not have to go to court. I know a good mediator that would be willing to meet with us at our earliest convenience.”

Jake stared at her skeptically. “You really think I’m going to use one of your friends as a mediator? Where’s the objectivity in that?” Sophia rolled her eyes and strolled past Jake into the apartment. “Yeah, sure, come right on in,” he commented sarcastically.

“I don’t know why you won’t work with me?” Sophia yelled.

Jake laughed dryly. “Gee, I don’t know, because you abandoned him five years ago and showed zero remorse until you had a big election coming up that you wanted to look good in.”

Sophia looked shocked. “How do you know about that?”

“I’m a detective. Remember?”

Sophia shook her head. “Jake, I don’t get why you’re acting this way. I’m his mother.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like you’ve been his mother since you gave birth to him,” Jake retorted. Sophia rolled her eyes. “Sophia, you know nothing about him. You didn’t even know his name until you looked me up to find me again. I didn’t judge you for putting your career first. I always expected you to. That was why I was surprised when you wanted to go through with the pregnancy. I never judged you for trying to save your career since I knew how important it was to you. But I _did_ judge you for how you did so. You just left him. And you didn’t even call me to tell me you were in labor. You just ghosted. We had solid plans for how we were going to raise our baby and then you left and I had to figure everything out by myself.”

Sophia’s face was blank. Jake had no indication of how his words were affecting her. “I don’t get why you’re so resistant to me being a part of my son’s life.”

“I’m resistant to you taking him.”

“God, it’s not like I’m kidnapping him, Jake,” Sophia argued. “I’m his mother. It is my right to be a part of his life.”

“It’s not a right. It is a privilege. And one you tossed away with him right after he was born,” Jake defended. “Sophia, you don’t even know him. You want to be a part of his life, start small. Don’t come running in again after five years waving custody papers. You really think he’s going to want to spend half his time with the woman who took him from his dad? Because that’s how he sees it. He doesn’t know who you are. And you’re going about this for _you_ not for _him_. If you really cared about being his mother, you’d think about what was best for him and his well-being. And having you strut in and demand we all work with you so you can look like a mother and win your damn election is not what is in his best interest.”

Sophia stared at him with a furious look on her face. “I’m his mother,” she repeated.

“Biologically. But there are a lot of people who’ve been a better mother to him in the last five years. The years that he remembers,” Jake argued. “My mom, his teachers, Charles, his babysitters, my girlfriend,” Jake listed. He grimaced slightly. He hadn’t intended to ever mention Amy to Sophia. He knew she’d go after anyone she could.

Sophia’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Well, all I’m saying is you could have done this the easy way.”

Jake shook his head at her. “Said like a true politician. And nothing like a mother.” Jake heard the key in the lock seconds before it opened.

“Hey, we’re home!” Amy called before she spotted Jake in a heated standoff with Sophia. Jake could tell when she processed what was happening. “Boys, go wash your hands. Now.”

The boys ran off to the bathroom chattering about something. Amy sat the food down delicately on the table by the door. She turned to the door before looking back at Jake. “Should I leave the door open? Should I close it…?”

“Oh you can leave it open,” Jake answered. “She’s leaving.”

“No I’m not,” Sophia argued. “My son is here. I’d like to spend some time with him. Isn’t that what you wanted me to do before the hearing?”

“I believe I said instead of a hearing,” Jake reminded her.

“Whatever, I want to see him.”

“Well I hope you’re prepared for head lice then,” Amy interrupted. Jake looked over at her but she was staring at Sophia. 

“Head lice?” Sophia asked, horror dripping from her tone.

“Yep, you get enough kids together and it’ll spread like wildfire. Both boys came home with it today,” Amy informed her.

“Well then I suppose I’ll see him soon enough,” Sophia replied, straightening her blazer. “And I’ll see you in court.”

“Can’t wait,” Jake said sarcastically. He shut the door heavily behind her. Turning to Amy, he looked at her skeptically. “Head lice? I picked up the boys today and Miss Miller didn’t say anything about it.”

Amy grinned deviously. “I know. But I figured with her nice looking suit and her expensive looking blowout, the last thing she’d want is some bugs jumping through her hair. I figured it would be enough to keep her away from John.”

Jake stared at her in awe. He brought her in for a hug. “You’re amazing. Did you know that?”

Amy pulled her head back and looked at him. “I’ve had an inkling.” Jake shook his head with a grin before he leaned in and kissed her quickly.

They were headed to the kitchen with dinner when Jake stopped Amy. “Oh by the way, the hearing is in one week.”

“How is it that fast?”

“I guess she knows people. And wants this to have died down by the time she announces her campaign,” Jake figured. Amy rolled her eyes and wrapped her arm around Jake’s waist, heading for the kitchen.

**

The custody hearing was a draining affair. It wasn’t until Jake and Amy met with Jake’s lawyer that morning that they found out that Sophia had changed her terms to full custody. Jake was near tears in anger. “I guess that’s what she meant by saying I could have done it the easy way.” Jake looked up at Amy and saw that she was seething.

“Jake, this is bullshit. There’s no way they’ll give him to her,” Amy insisted. “I mean yeah she has the mother title, but she gave him up. And you’re an amazing dad.”

Jake nodded solemnly, hoping against hope that Amy was right.

He appreciated all the people that had turned up to testify on Jake’s behalf. Charles gave a tearful testimony about how Jake struggled to adjust to being a single dad and then triumphed and became the best dad there was. Even his captain testified, saying that his upstanding work performance didn’t hold a candle to his parenting abilities. And while Jake was touched by all the other testimonies, Amy’s was the one that really hit him.

Jake’s lawyer started the questioning. “You’re Mr. Peralta’s girlfriend?” Amy nodded. “How long have you known Mr. Peralta?”

“I met Jake the day that our boys started kindergarten.”

“And how would you say that he is as a parent?”

 Amy paused and looked at Jake. “I could tell from the moment that I met him that his child was his whole life. And after spending time with them together, it is obvious how easily the role of father fits him. He is patient with him and he does silly things just to make his son happy. He does more than just the feeding and clothing him and keeping a roof over his head that’s required of a parent. But Jake goes beyond that. He loves his son more than anything else. And it’s obvious. He is the only person who knows his son so well. Who knows his little eccentricities, who knows exactly how to hide vegetables in his food so he won’t know they’re there, who knows what’s wrong when he’s crying. You can say that Sophia is John’s mother. But for John’s whole life, Jake has been not only his dad, but also his mom. He’s done everything. And he loves it. He is such a good father to his son that my own son has expressed his jealousy over it. _That’s_ what Jake is like as a parent.”

Jake could feel tears in his eyes as Amy made eye contact with him from the stand. Amy finished her testimony and walked down from the stand to sit back behind Jake. He felt her hand gently squeeze his shoulder. For a moment, he felt better.

And then he had to listen to Sophia’s side talk about how he was preventing her from being a mother and correcting a five year old mistake. He watched as they dragged out every dumb thing he’d ever done and cited it as him being capable of being a bad father. He had to hear them talk about how he told Sophia that she didn’t have to keep it, completely ignoring how he’d told her it was her legal right to choose. But apparently that didn’t matter when he was being smeared in court. As Sophia’s lawyers praised her, Jake became actually concerned that he might lose his child. Turning to his lawyer, he expressed an interest to be put on the stand.

They’d already heard Sophia’s tearful testimony about her mistakes and how she just wanted to be a mom. Jake had initially decided he didn’t want to testify on his own behalf. He was worried that he would get angry and say something he shouldn’t. But he couldn’t let them smear his name without sharing his side. Jake was the final person to testify before a decision would be reached.

“Mr. Peralta, why do you believe that you are the better parent for your son?”

“I’ll keep this short,” Jake began, “I’m the better parent for my son because I’m actually his parent. Parenting is more than DNA. It’s hard. It’s having your kid say that they hate you because you wouldn’t let them have ice cream after dinner. It’s holding them while they cry about something completely insignificant. It’s getting up in the middle of the night after you worked all day because your son had a nightmare and he’s inconsolable. It’s more than biology. I’m the better parent for my son because I want my son. I love my son and the reason that I want to keep custody of him is because I care for him and I have his best interest at heart. I’m not trying to gain custody because I have mayoral ambitions and having a full family will win me voters.”

He could see Sophia’s scandalized face out of the corner of his eye. But he kept going. “I am the only person my son knows as a parent. To take him from me would damage him emotionally. It is not in his best interest to go to his mother. And I certainly hope that’s what the court cares about here. About the _child’s_ best interest.” So maybe he hadn’t kept it short, but based on his lawyer’s reaction to his testimony, Jake seemed to think he’d made a convincing argument.

The judge dismissed the court as a decision was being made. Jake waited on a bench just outside the door with Amy sitting next to him. Charles stood across from them, talking to their captain. Amy gripped Jake’s hand tightly in hers. He squeezed her hand, needing her support more than ever.  

He was all but shaking as they were called back in to the courtroom. He saw Sophia with her husband behind her. She had a confident look on her face. Jake nervously stood for the judge.

“I’ve heard a lot of compelling arguments here today as to why both of you should have custody of your child,” the judge began. “And since the paperwork now reflects full custody, that is what I have to grant. Keeping the child’s best interest in mind, I am granting custody rights to the father, Jacob Peralta.”

Jake felt tears of joy streaming down his face. He closed his eyes and smiled, his knees almost giving out beneath him. Before he opened his eyes, he felt another body slam into his and their arms wrap around him. He wrapped his arms around Amy tightly. She pulled back and looked at him, tears streaming down her face too. “I knew they couldn’t take him from you.” He kissed her quickly before he turned to shake hands with his lawyer.

Jake and Amy picked up the boys from his mom’s house. Amy took Sam outside so Jake could have a moment of privacy with John. He explained to his son that they were going home and that no one was ever going to take him away. John threw his arms around Jake’s neck and hugged him tightly. Jake stood up, clutching his son to him as fresh tears filled his eyes.

They’d spent the day with their kids, letting them play and have dinner at John’s favorite place to eat. Amy kept insisting that she and Sam could go home and let them celebrate just the two of them. Every time, Jake waved her off and told her she was crazy. That they were important too.

Jake and Amy were sitting on his couch later that night, John asleep on him, Sam asleep on Amy. They were still watching the end of Aladdin since they’d put it on for the boys. Jake smiled as John snuggled further into his arms. He’d spent the rest of the day more thankful than ever for his son.

And as he looked over at Amy, he also felt incredibly thankful for her. He figured he’d have been much more of a wreck during the whole process if it hadn’t been for Amy’s support. Finally it seemed like after a couple months, his life was back on track. He reached over and grabbed her hand where it lay on the couch. She looked up and smiled at him. Finally the words that he hadn’t been able to say felt right.

“Amy,” he said softly. She looked over at him. “I love you.”

She smiled broadly, squeezing his hand in hers. “I love you too.”

Jake and Amy both started to lean in a little until the boys started to shift. They laughed quietly and sat back in their original spots, not wanting to wake their sons. Jake raised their joined hands and kissed the back of hers as she giggled.

Looking down at the sleeping boys, Amy wondered aloud, “Do you think maybe it’s time we tell them?”

Jake chuckled at the thought of explaining dating to two five year olds. “Yeah, we probably should.”

**

It was three years since they’d met. It was two years and six months since the custody hearing. It was a year and eight months since Jake had proposed to Amy with John and Sam holding up a sign they’d helped him paint. It was four months since the wedding when John had walked Jake down the aisle and Sam had walked Amy. It was three months since they’d started adoption proceedings for Amy to officially adopt John and Jake to officially adopt Sam (Teddy had apparently signed over his parental rights pretty easily).

Jake was reading something on his phone when Amy walked out of the bathroom. “The nightmares all taken care of?”

Jake smirked, looking up at her as she climbed in bed next to him. “Yes, I got in there and John was already out of bed, telling Sam it was just a bad dream.”

Amy laughed. “See, it’s like I said. This whole brothers thing is going to really cut down on our responsibilities. They’ll just take care of each other.”

Jake laughed with her. “We still have to feed and clothe them. I don’t think they’re to that level yet. Although, Sam was helping John with his math homework tonight. So you may have a point.”

Jake put his phone down on his bedside table and slid further down into the bed. “Hey, I have a question for you,” Amy asked. He looked up at her, nodding for her to continue as his eyes grew heavy. “How do you think the boys would feel about a sibling?”

Jake’s eyes were closed as his head rested on his pillow. “I’m sure they’ll just take it and trash the house with it as usual.” Suddenly his eyes sprang open and he stared at Amy. Her eyes were wide and she was wearing a grin. “Wait, are you saying…?” he trailed off.

Amy nodded excitedly. “I think so. I just took a test and it was positive. I mean it could be false, but…”

Jake shot up, crawling closer to Amy. “We’re having a baby?” Amy nodded. Jake grabbed her and kissed her all over her face before finally kissing her lips. He held his hands on either side of her head, staring into her eyes. “I can’t believe we’re having a baby.”

Amy smiled at Jake, tears in her eyes. He laid his hand on her stomach and she laid a hand over his. “I guess our little family is growing.”

Jake looked back up at Amy, kissing her again. “I think the boys are going to be thrilled.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! It was fun for me to write for sure! Please let me know what you think. I live for feedback! 
> 
> You can always come and chat with me on tumblr! I'm three-drink-amy!


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